The Construction Process

       Robinson Crusoe built a new civilization from the remnants of a sunken ship and the primitive supplies of the island. From the ship, Crusoe rescued a number of very useful materials, such as cables, masts, planks, and sails. He also recovered a number of tools and supplies from the cabins of the ship. He found hammers, nails, axes, and saws, among other supplies.
       Crusoe built his shelter using vernacular construction techniques of the time. His double layered tent was constructed in the usual manner, each tent made up of two uprights supporting a crosspiece.

The wall fortification - two rows of stakes cut from the ship's masts support stacks of the ship's cable in the manner of a fagot shack wall.
       Over time, Crusoe builds a structural roof over the cabin, similar to a fallen tree shelter. Using tree trunks and wooden poles from the ship as rafters, and supporting them on the face of the rock, he covers the roof with wooden planks and grass. Crusoe extends his fortification by creating a second wall out of brushwood between the trees that encompass the shelter and fagot wall.

      For the bower, Crusoe produces a standard wick-up shelter. This is the first of his structures to resemble a traditional framed house. Thin lumber creates the frame of the bower - four perpendicular walls - and a flat roof. The frame is held together with braided rope, which Crusoe produced from straw. It is then covered with straw and grass to provide shelter. He also develops a number of sheds and apartments in this same fashion.
       Another construction aspect to consider is the cave. Crusoe builds his first wall around a small recess in the rock face. He finds the rock loose and soft enough to burrow in to. Over time, as he requires more shelter, Crusoe burrows a tunnel leading into the rock and back out on the other side of the fortified wall. In the tunnel, he hollows out a number of small cellars in which to store supplies and food.

Crusoe's Construction

Fagot wall construction for Crusoe's original-coast shelter 

 "In this half-circle I pitched two rows of strong stakes, driving them into the ground till they stood very firm like piles, the biggest end being out of the ground about five feet and a half and a sharpened on the top. The two rows did not stand about six inches from one another. Then I took the pieces of cable which I had cut in the ship, and laid them in rows one upon another, within the circle, between these two rows of stakes, up to the top, placing other stakes in the inside leaning against them, about two feet and a half high, like a spur to a post; and this fence was so strong, that neither man or beast could get into it, or over it."

Crusoe's double layered tent inside the fagot wall.

"I made me a large tent… I made double, viz., one smaller tent within, and one larger tent above it, and covered the uppermost with a large tarpaulin, which I had saved among the sails"

Roof which Crusoe constructed on top of his shelter to protect him and his supplies from the weather.

"Strong pale of posts and cables; but I might now call it a wall, for I raised a kind of wall up against it of turfs, about two feet thick on the outside, and after some time—I think it was a year and a half—I raised rafters from it leading to the rock, and thatched or covered it with boughs of trees."

The bower Crusoe constructed after coming upon a lush valley during  his exploration of the island. This bower serves Crusoe as both a backup shelter and a summer cottage.

The Bower

After surveying the island, Crusoe discovers that he had chosen the one of the worst sites on the island to construct his fortification and coming upon a lush valley he is tempted to relocate. However, unable to desert the fortification that offered a view to the sea, he chooses to construct a summerhouse in the valley instead.

Location

The bower is situated in a green valley that Crusoe finds after following the stream from his fortification.  The valley is filled with fauna and Crusoe is immediately captivated by it.

He builds “where the country seemed to descend to the west; and a little spring of fresh water, that is due east; and the country appeared so fresh, so green, so flourishing, everything being in a constant verdure or flourish of spring, that it looked like a planted garden.”

The Shelter

Defoe does not describe the construction of the bower in much detail but the structural elements of the bower closely resemble those in the fortification so it can be assumed that the bower is constructed in a similar manner. The bower is composed of a double hedge that can only be crossed by ladder, which encloses a tent for lodging. The fence in the bower was constructed from stakes with brushwood placed in between. These stakes later grow to provide shade and cover for the bower. Seeing the effectiveness of the hedge, Crusoe applies this new method of defence to his first habitation. As for furnishings, Crusoe later goes to build a sofa out of skins and blankets to go inside this tent.

The Fortification

View of the sea and ship wreck, Crusoe builds his shelter along the side of a steep hill. A small fresh water stream can also be seen in the foreground.

Desiring a place to look out for passing ships and a source of freshwater, Crusoe decided to relocate to a better site.

Location

“First, health and fresh water… Secondly, shelter from the heat of the sun. Thirdly security from the ravenous creatures, whether men or beasts. Fourthly a view to the sea, that if God sent any ship in sight I might not lose any advantage for my deliverance”

           Eventually, Crusoe finds a site that is slightly further inland on the side of a rock-composed hill with a view down to the sea and a freshwater source nearby. He chooses to situate himself on the north-northwest to gain shade from the sun. This side of the hill has a small cave-like indent and in front of this indent was a piece small of grassland about a hundred yards wide.

The Shelter

          The new habitation started by circling off an area of about ten yards in radius from the rock. To construct the fence, Crusoe drove two rows of stakes into the ground with a six-inch gap in between and then laying cables from the ship in the gap. This method of construction is called a fagot fence. The  gap is usually filled with bundles of twigs and straw and an additional layer of mud of plaster and be laid on top to create an adobe fence. After roughly laying out the fence, Crusoe pitched a double tent where top sheet of the tent being a piece of tarpaulin taken from the ship as a place for rest and the protection of goods from the weather. After the completion of the tent, Crusoe returns to the construction of the fence. The entire pale takes him one year to complete but becomes sturdy wall of posts and cables covered in grass that can only be crossed by the use of a retractable ladder. During the construction of the wall, Crusoe also digs into the crevice in the hill to create a better storage space for his goods. The soil removed from the rocky hill is used to strengthen the wall.  Finding the need for fuel and fire, the cave is expanded even further to allow for Crusoe’s kitchen. Crusoe continues to expand the cave until he has carved a passage to the outside of his wall to allow for a side door to his shelter and more storage space. Shelving was also added to the cave walls to provide organization of tools. At one point, the cave collapses from a lack of support and Crusoe begins to build the cave more carefully by supporting the roof of the cave with posts and boards. Crusoe also used the placement of the posts as a partition for rooms. Throughout the time spent on the island, Crusoe continues to expand the cave whenever a necessity for expansion exists. Finding the stakes grown outside his bower to be even better for cover and defence, a second wall is constructed outside of the initial wall about eight yards from the first fence. Upon the discovery of the footprint in the sand, fear drove Crusoe to fortify the second fence even further until the fence became woods that hid the cave completely.  The second fence was also constructed with seven holes with muskets already set in place.

Cabin Construction

Here are some methods of construction that Crusoe used while building his shelter.Construction of the wall:

"In this half-circle I pitched two rows of strong stakes...I took the pieces of cable which I had cut in the ship, and laid them in rows one upon another"